Wall structure for bake ovens and the like



March 25, 1930. E. o. ENGELS WALL STRUCTURE FOR BAKE OVENS AND THE LIKE Filed Oct. 15, 1928 INVENY 'OR Eugene Oscar Engels I Of Bakzrzg Chamber BY I 7" r I W ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 25, TQBQ EUGIETE @EUAES ENG-EELS, GE SAGINAW, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOB '10 BAKER PERKINS GQMEhI TE', lltl'G, F SAGINAW, MICHIGAN, A CQREPORATTQN 0L" NEW YQRK WALT. STRUCTURE] FOR BAKE ()VENS AND THE LIKE Application filed Detober 13,1928. Serial No. 312,289.

This invention relates to bake ovens and other structures either with or without internal heating means and pertains particularly to the construction of the wall and more spe- {g cifically to a wall faced with glass plates or with very thin tiles or panels of brittle material, such as porcelain, enameled metal plates or the like. For purposes of description I will explain the device as applied to an inw ternally, heated bake oven.

The object of the invention is to provide a means for sustaining the outside finishing panels on the frame or outer wall structure of the oven in such a way that all liability is s removed of cracking, crazing or otherwise injuring the panels either by expansion or contraction caused by temperature changes, or by pressure from outside, which for example might be caused by a person leaning as against the oven or by standing a sack of flour against it.

The improvement also insures proper and substantially exact alinement of the faces of all the panels in the lane of the outer face of at the wall, even thoug the outer frame of the oven may not be entirely accurate or perfectly in line.

- Another object of the invention is to enable an oven or like wall of large area to be m faced with relatively thin glass or such like brittle material in the form of individual panels that are of relatively small size, and to provide means for readily applying such panels to the wall and for removing them whenever it is desired to replace a panel or to change the arrangement of the oven burner fittings or openings. This interchangeable panel feature'of the invention also includes a means for temporarily holding all of the at panels of the wall in place while one of the panels is being removed, even through the main outside finishing strip or panel-holding strips may have been removed from the wall.

Such outer finishing strips are usually of at polished metal inlong pieces/and they generally are assembled end to end so as to extend the entire length of the oven, whereas the in-. dividual panels are relatively short. Nevertheless whenever a par el is being removed the 559 adjoining panels will not fall out of place,

even though as stated, the finishing strip has been taken ofi.

l/Vith the foregoing and certain other 013- face view of the Fig. 3 is a detail view of the spring strip v and panel clip in the position they occupy when appliedto an upright seam.

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional detail of the joint between two panels made according to my invention, with the outer finishing strip removed, showing the manner of detaching a lower panel without disturbing the adjacent panels.

As is usual in structures of this kind, the outer wall of the oven is in the form of a boxlike structure enclosing the inner heated compartment or baking chamber, the outer wall being spaced apart from the wall of the baking chamber, as shown in Fig. 1.

The outer wall structure consists of a main framework that includes supporting members 1 carrying rails 2 spaced apart either viertiically or horizontally as desired, and para le The rails are secured to the main supporting members 1, which may be posts, beams or bents that constitute the principalframework of the oven structure, and in practice are com monly located about ten feet apart along the llength of the oven, so as t'o divide the oven into unit sections that can conveniently be added to or subtracted from, in order to increase or decrease the oven length to-suit conditions in any given bakery.

The rails 2 sup ort the panels which constitute the outer facing or finish of the oven and each panel consists of a rectangular plate 3, usuallymade ofglass, tile or other rela tively brittleor fragile material, to provide a handsome and sanitary exterior finish. A row of such panels closes the space between any two rails.

Each panel 3 rests upon its lower edge 3 which stands upon a projection 4 that is carried by the rail 2. This projection may be a mere lug, but preferably is a continuous bar extending along the rail 2 so it not only serves to support the panels 3, but also act as a strongback or stiffener for the relatively thin finishing strip 5. The finishing strip is preferablya band of stainless steel or like material secured by bolts 6 to the rail 2. The width of the top face of the projection 4 is greater than the thickness of the panel 8 to permit the panel to have a limited amount of movement sidewise between the finishing strip 5 and the rail 2. The bolt 6 is thus unable to clamp the glass tightly between these two parts and there is no liability of breaking the panel from that cause.

To yieldingly hold the panel outwardly against the finishing'strip and to provide continuous support along the inner marginal edge of the panel I provide a spring member 7 in the form of a long strip or band of resilient material such as spring brass, the band being slightly bowed to present a curved cross section in order that its marginal edges can form continuous line contacts with the inner surfaces of the panel margins, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4. The spring-like yielding of the edges of strip 7 is indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3. The spring strip is preferably received in clamping relation between the projection 4 and the rail 2, being held by means of the bolt 6.

I have found it desirable in some instances to insert a washer 80f heat-resisting material between the spring member 7 and rail 2 to reduce heat loss through conductivity between the wall of the baking chamber and the outer wall of the oven. 1

To hold the panel 3 in place on the projection or bar 4: after the finishing strip 5 has been taken OK I provide a clip 9, whose body is preferably shaped to embrace the bar 4, as shown in Figs. 1. and 4. The clip 9 is formed with one or more wing flanges 9 made of pliant material such as sheet copper and designed to normally overlap the outer face of the panel margin, as shown in Fig. 1. As many clips as may be required can be placed wherever needed along the length of bar 4 whether they coincide with bolt 6 or not.

In assembling, the panels 3 are easily and quickly put in place when the flanges 9 of clips 9 are bent outwardly. After the panel is in place with its lower edge resting on the lower projection or supporting member 4, and the lower marginal face yieldly pressed by the marginal edge of spring 7, the wing flanges 9 of clips 9 are bent to engage the outer face of the plate as shown in Fig. 4.

The wing 9 forms a temporary retaining member tohold the panel in place. The outer finishing strip 5 is then applied and secured tightly to the rail 2 by means of bolts 6,-

the projection or bar 4 acting as a spacer and also serving to hold the spring vband 7 in place. v

When secured in place as above described each panel 3 stands freely with its bottom edge resting on projection 4c and its outer marginal edges yicldingly pressed against the finishing strip 5 by spring 7. The panels are thereby kept in alincment regardless of any slight inaccuracy in the construction of the framework of the outer oven wall. Spring "When it is desired to remove one or more of the panels the finished strip 5 is taken off, as shown in Fig. 4:, and one of the wing flanges 9 of the clip 9 is bent outwardlypermitting the panel to be lifted out. Meanwhile the other panels, which are normally held in place by the finishing strip 5, are prevented from falling out by the clip flanges 9 that overlap the marginal edges of the standing panels. It is thus made possible to rapidly and easily dismantle any row of panels or any individual panel of any row without disturbing any of the others. In practice the purpose of removing panels is to enable them to be exchanged or replaced, or by using panels of different lengths, the necessary openings into the oven, such as inspection doors, burner inlets and the like, can easily be shifted to any desired position on the oven without having to dismantle the outer oven wall and without unnecessarily cutting the panel material. This feature is particularly valuable in bake ovens wherein the. burner arrangement must be modified or corrected after the oven has been installed and put into use. Sometimes it becomes necessary to move a burner only a few inches from its'original position and-this panel arrangement facilitates such changes without patching or otherwisle injuring the appearance of the oven wa l.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An oven framework including upright supporting members and rails thereon in vertically spaced relation, panels closing the space between the rails and means for removably securing said panels in position while permitting removal of any individual panel, said fastening means comprising an exterior, finishing strip, bolts holding the rails, panels and finishing stri s in clamping relation, a panel-supporting ar carried by the bolts, a spring member also carried by the bolts and having its marginal edges engaging the panel and urging the panels outwardly against the finishing strip, a clip of. easily bendable material secured to and engaging the panel-supporting bar, winged flanges on said clip overlapping the outer faces of the panel margins, said clip normally concealed y the finishin strip and arranged to hold the panels in p ace on said bar after the-finishing strip is removed, said winged flanges adapted to be bent outwardly to permit removal of designated panels. 2. A structure as set forth in claim 1 having a heat-insulating washer interposed between the sprin strip and rail and adapted to hold the rail an spring in spaced relation, for the purposes set forth. In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature.

EUGENE OSCAR ENGELS. 

